January 18, 2016

La Mode Millinery

This hat is pretty wild right? I don't wear it often, for sadly few occasions call for such fabulous frippery as this ridiculous hat! I made it several years ago and piled on the ostrich feathers and ribbons. Somehow it may be more suited to a bustle gown than 1940's fashions, but the 40s saw some pretty crazy tilt hats so I think I can get away with it.

This black dress was also made several years ago, as I made it to wear to my university graduation ceremony under my voluminous black graduation gown. There are things I would change about the dress for sure, mostly the shoulders/straps/sleeves area. One day I may lower the hemline too as there is plenty of fabric folded into the hem to do so. Still, the cotton sateen is nice and I like the silly side drape. I kept the rest of my outfit monochrome as to not distract from my hat, choosing a black belt, gloves, and shoes. The necklace is one of my favorite vintage finds ever and is dreamily renaissance inspired mid-century goodness. My ultimate dream would be to find matching earrings out there in the world someday!

I've just noticed my hair looks so short here! It's just because I used a small sized curling iron producing tighter curls. I'm still practicing more 40s-ish styles, and the front of my hair is actually pulled up in a bit of a poodle underneath my hat here, though you can't really tell in these photos. Luckily it was an overcast day (yes, I long for cloud cover) meaning for once I am not squinting! Small victories :) This is a lot of hat to wear out in public here in suburbia, so tell me-- what is the craziest "vintage" item you have worn around town?

11 comments:

I had a feeling when I started reading this blog that I would resent my lack of craft skills even more than I already did... So impressed! I can't think of anything that I've worn that was particularly 'crazy' - well, by modern standards at least. Half of what I see the youngsters wearing looks mad to me, though, because I am now very old ;)

I suppose youngsters do wear some pretty wacky things these days, but mostly it's just the super casual look around here. No one bothers getting dressed anymore! Hopefully hats will make a come back one day :)

Thank you Jessica! I do wish I had even more time to devote to millinery, in another time I would certainly have worked in a hat shop! It's just too bad there are rarely such things as hat shops anymore!

I love your post, the colors are beautiful! I'm a designer and currently working on a hair accessories collection called The Butterfly Effect, made with real butterflies, I feel like you would like it : http://goo.gl/fdLwAj

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Hello there! I'm Bianca and here on The Closet Historian I study and recreate vintage fashions-- sketching, pattern drafting, and sewing my way to a vintage inspired wardrobe. I also occasionally attempt knitting, travel as far and wide as I can, and make videos over on YouTube, all while writing a novel on the side.